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Fabric Minecraft Server - Sysadmin Setup Manual

This document outlines the complete procedure to construct the Minecraft Java Edition (Fabric) server infrastructure from a bare-metal Linux installation. This configuration emphasizes stability, security via network segmentation (Tailscale), and automated offsite backups.

Scope of Document: This manual covers only the Minecraft server backend, system services, security, and backup infrastructure. Web server configurations are excluded.

1. Environment Prerequisites & Setup

1.1 System Requirements

OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (or similar Debian-based distribution).
RAM: Minimum 6GB dedicated to the OS (allocating 4GB+ to Java).
Access: Root or sudo privileges for initial setup.

1.2 Install Dependencies

Update package lists and install necessary tools: OpenJDK 21 (Headless), Screen (for background console management), UFW (firewall), Zip/Unzip, Curl, and Rclone (for backups).

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install openjdk-21-jre-headless screen ufw zip unzip curl -y
sudo curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

1.3 Create Dedicated Service User

For security, the server should never run as root. Create a dedicated user (e.g., mcserver).

sudo adduser mcserver
# Follow prompts to set a strong password.

Crucial: All subsequent steps related to game files should be performed as this dedicated user, not root.

Switch to the user:

su - mcserver

2. Network Security & Tailscale Setup

2.1 Configure System Firewall (UFW)

Implement a "Default Deny" policy. Only allow standard Minecraft traffic directly from the public internet. SSH access should be restricted to the local LAN or Tailscale network interfaces.

# Ensure you are logged in as a sudo user for these commands
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing

# Allow public Minecraft traffic (Default TCP 25565)
sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp

# Enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

2.2 Install Tailscale (Secure Admin Access)

Install Tailscale so the server joins your private administrative network. This allows you to SSH into the server without exposing Port 22 to the public internet.

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up
# Follow the link provided to authenticate the machine.

2.3 Trust Tailscale Interface

Tell UFW to allow all traffic coming from other devices on your Tailscale network.

sudo ufw allow in on tailscale0

2.4 External Port Forwarding

Log into the network edge router. Forward TCP Port 25565 to the server's local LAN IP address.

3. Server Installation (Fabric)

3.1 Directory Structure

Ensure you are logged in as the dedicated user (mcserver). Create the directory structure.

mkdir -p ~/fabric_server
cd ~/fabric_server

3.2 Download Fabric Installer

Visit fabricmc.net to grab the latest installer URL or use curl. (Example below uses a generic name, check site for actual current version).

curl -OJ https://maven.fabricmc.net/net/fabricmc/fabric-installer/1.0.0/fabric-installer-1.0.0.jar

3.3 Execute Installer & Download Minecraft Jar

Run the installer jar to download the vanilla Minecraft server jar and generate the necessary Fabric libraries.

# Replace installer jar name with actual downloaded version
java -jar fabric-installer-*.jar server -downloadMinecraft

Note: You may delete the installer jar after this step.

3.4 Accept EULA

Attempt to run the server once to generate the EULA file, then accept it.

java -Xmx2G -jar fabric-server-launch.jar nogui
# It will exit immediately.
sed -i 's/eula=false/eula=true/g' eula.txt

4. Configuration & Launch Scripts

4.1 Server Properties

Edit `server.properties` to configure game settings.

nano server.properties

Key requirements:

server-port=25565
white-list=true (Highly recommended for private servers)

4.2 Create Startup Script (start.sh)

Create a script to handle Java arguments and launch the server inside a detached screen session. This is crucial for systemd integration.

nano ~/fabric_server/start.sh

File Content:

#!/bin/bash
# Minecraft Server Startup Script
SERVER_DIR=/home/mcserver/fabric_server
JAR_NAME=fabric-server-launch.jar

# RAM Allocation (adjust based on available system RAM)
RAM=4G

cd "$SERVER_DIR"
# -DmS starts a detached screen session named 'mcserver'
/usr/bin/screen -DmS mcserver /usr/bin/java -Xmx$RAM -Xms$RAM -jar $JAR_NAME nogui

Make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/fabric_server/start.sh

5. Systemd Service Integration (Auto-Start)

Create a systemd unit file to manage the server as a native Linux service. This handles auto-start on boot and graceful shutdowns.

5.1 Create Unit File

As a sudo user:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/minecraft.service

File Content: (Ensure paths and User match your setup)

[Unit]
Description=Fabric Minecraft Server
After=network.target

[Service]
# The user created in Step 1.3
User=mcserver
Group=mcserver
WorkingDirectory=/home/mcserver/fabric_server

# Start Command uses the script created in Step 4.2
ExecStart=/home/mcserver/fabric_server/start.sh

# Stop Command sends the "stop" command into the running screen session
ExecStop=/usr/bin/screen -p 0 -S mcserver -X eval 'stuff "stop"\015'

# Restart policy
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10s

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

5.2 Enable and Start Service

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable minecraft
sudo systemctl start minecraft

Verify status:

sudo systemctl status minecraft

6. Usage & Maintenance

6.1 Accessing the Server Console

To view logs or issue commands, attach to the running screen session as the service user.

# Switch to service user if needed
su - mcserver

# Attach to session
screen -r mcserver

To detach (leave running): Press Ctrl + A, then press D.

6.2 Starting/Stopping

Use standard systemctl commands (requires sudo privileges):

sudo systemctl stop minecraft
sudo systemctl restart minecraft

7. Automated Offsite Backups

Backups are handled by a custom script that stops game writes, zips the world data, and uploads it to Google Drive using Rclone.

7.1 Configure Rclone Remote

Run the configuration wizard to authorize Google Drive access. Name the remote gdrive.

rclone config
# Follow prompts: n (new remote) -> name: gdrive -> Storage Number for Drive -> Follow auth steps.

7.2 Create Backup Script

As the service user (mcserver), create the automation script.

mkdir -p ~/scripts
mkdir -p ~/backups
nano ~/scripts/backup_world.sh

File Content:

#!/bin/bash
# --- CONFIG ---
SERVER_DIR="/home/mcserver/fabric_server"
WORLD_NAME="world"
BACKUP_DIR="/home/mcserver/backups"
REMOTE_NAME="gdrive"
# Use underscores, avoid colons in remote folder names for cross-OS compatibility
REMOTE_PATH="backups/minecraft_25565"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M")
ZIP_NAME="world_${TIMESTAMP}.zip"

# --- EXECUTION ---
echo "Starting backup process for $TIMESTAMP..."

# Optional: Send 'save-all' and 'save-off' to console via screen before zipping for perfect data integrity
# /usr/bin/screen -p 0 -S mcserver -X eval 'stuff "save-all"\015'
# sleep 5
# /usr/bin/screen -p 0 -S mcserver -X eval 'stuff "save-off"\015'

# Zip the world folder relative to the server directory
cd "$SERVER_DIR"
zip -r -q "$BACKUP_DIR/$ZIP_NAME" "$WORLD_NAME"

# Optional: Turn game saving back on
# /usr/bin/screen -p 0 -S mcserver -X eval 'stuff "save-on"\015'

echo "Uploading $ZIP_NAME to remote..."
# --min-age ensures file is finished writing before upload attempts
rclone copy "$BACKUP_DIR/$ZIP_NAME" "$REMOTE_NAME:$REMOTE_PATH" --min-age 1s -P

# Cleanup local zip to save space
rm "$BACKUP_DIR/$ZIP_NAME"

echo "Backup complete."

Make executable:

chmod +x ~/scripts/backup_world.sh

7.3 Automate with Cron

Open the crontab for the service user:

crontab -e

Add the following line to run the backup daily at 4:00 AM:

0 4 * * * /home/mcserver/scripts/backup_world.sh >> /home/mcserver/scripts/backup.log 2>&1

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